In the budget for next year, Baker plans to spend less money putting families in shelters, hotels and motels. And more money on prevention. He wants to send out assessment teams to help families access the services they need before they become homeless.

Between staffing up his administration, organizing working groups to tackle problems, and holding snow emergency press conferences, Governor Charlie Baker has put nearly two months of experience in the Corner Office under his belt without putting to paper his vision of the future of state government.

Away from the music clubs and bars of western Massachusetts, there’s a network of young musicians organizing concerts on a regular basis. A few local bands have emerged from this scene, and received attention far beyond the Pioneer Valley. One of them is California X, from Hadley.

This is Trichome Health Consultants, a medical marijuana dispensary tucked into a line of glass storefronts on a semi-commercial strip in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As Massachusetts prepares to open its first dispensary, possibly in April, this is a glimpse into the future.

Smith College’s Mortimer Rare Book Room is known for housing prestigious collections of literary manuscripts and ancient texts. Now, the library is displaying something a bit more frivolous: a collection of old paper and plastic bags from bookstores around the world.

Buried in snow, Massachusetts residents, businesses and the government itself are struggling to regain their form and will attempt to make progress today, when most K-12 students are due back in classrooms and the MBTA hopes to make some noticeable gains in its recently dismal service levels.